First Place: Su Mu?

First place: Zhao Wuji. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Nine Nether Sword Master". Level: 16. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

Second place: Lin Qingyin. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Heavenly Sound Zither Maiden". Level: 16. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

Third place: Zhou Zekai. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Thunder Emperor's Hammer". Level: 15. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

Fourth place: Ye Qingxue. Rongcheng No. 1 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Snow Queen". Level: 16. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

Fifth place: Chen Zixuan. Provincial Capital No. 2 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Flame Dragon Battle Body". Level: 15. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

Sixth place: Wang Muyuan. Provincial Capital No. 1 High School. Core card: SSS-level "Frost Swordmaster". Level: 15. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

7th Place: Li Qingyao. Provincial Capital No. 2 High School. Core Card: SSS-level "Azure Luan Feather Robe". Level: 15. Current Wave: Wave 7. Number of Kills in Current Wave: 64.

8th Place: Zhang Haoran. Jinling Affiliated High School. Core Card: SSS-level "Acala". Level: 15. Current Wave: Wave 7. Number of Kills in Current Wave: 64.

Ninth place: Liu Yutong. Huai'an High School. Core card: SSS-level "Star River Magic Robe". Level: 14. Current wave: Wave 7. Number of kills in the current wave: 64.

10th Place: Zhou Zimo. Yangzhou High School. Core Card: SSS-level "Lapis Lazuli Buddha Hand". Level: 14. Current Wave: Wave 7. Number of Kills in Current Wave: 64.

The old man looked at the rankings and slowly said, "The seventh wave is a watershed moment. In the previous waves, the number of monsters was small and their level was low, so anyone with some strength could pass through them."

However, the seventh wave consists of 64 monsters, all level 12, and elite monsters begin to appear. From this point onward, the gap between 3S-rank and double S-rank monsters will widen. Those currently ranked here are all SSS-rank dungeon masters.

The teachers nearby nodded in agreement.

"The advantage of 3S-level core cards lies in their attributes and growth curve. This advantage is not obvious in the early stages when the level is low. However, by the seventh wave, when the monster strength increases, the high attributes of 3S-level core cards can overwhelm them. While double S-level and S-level cards can also clear the wave, the speed will be much slower, and the score coefficient will be significantly higher."

"And look," another teacher added, "Those ranked eighteenth and below all cleared the sixth wave with incredible speed. It's not that they couldn't beat the seventh wave, but that the seventh wave takes too long and has too many monsters, and they can't clear all the dungeon creatures within the time limit."

Therefore, you can only get stuck at wave 6. However, even for an SSS-rank professional, clearing wave 8 after wave 7 will be difficult.

Everyone nodded.

"Indeed." A proctor pointed to the data on the screen, "The eighth wave consists of sixty-four level twelve monsters, plus sixty-four elite monsters, totaling one hundred and twenty-eight. Ordinary S-rank monsters will basically be stuck here. Double S-rank monsters can barely pass, but within the time limit is simply impossible."

"Even 3S-level cards depend on the type," another teacher chimed in. "If it's a core card with area-of-effect attacks, like Zhao Wuji's Nine Nether Sword Master, which can sweep away a whole area with one strike, its monster-clearing efficiency is extremely high. But if it's a single-target burst type, like Zhou Zekai's Thunder Emperor's Hammer, although the damage is high enough, it won't be that fast when facing sixty-four elite monsters swarming at the same time."

"Therefore, even among the 3S-rank cards, there are tiers," the middle-aged teacher summarized. "AoE-type core cards have a natural advantage in the Nest Trial, but that doesn't mean they are necessarily stronger than single-target burst-type 3S-rank cards. The later stages aren't necessarily about speed in clearing monsters."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

However, at that moment, the statistics column at the bottom of the screen suddenly flickered.

A name suddenly jumped up from below and inserted itself into the top ten list.

7th Place: Su Mu. Rongcheng No. 1 High School. Core Card: B-grade "Stone". Level: 17. Current Wave: Wave 8. Total Kills: 60.

The discussion on the platform suddenly fell silent.

"Su Mu?"

Someone instinctively uttered the name, their brow furrowing. "Is there anyone named Su Mu among the 3S-class?"

"I don't recall. I've been watching the top ten list all morning, and there isn't a single 3S-class vehicle named Su Mu."

"Wait, could it be Su Mu from that special instance we mentioned before? He's from Rongcheng No. 1 High School, and he has that name too."

"No way?" A teacher next to him shook his head. "That Su Mu's core card is an F-grade stone, this one is B-grade, wait, how come the core card is also a stone..."

Before he could finish speaking, he seemed to realize something.

At this moment, the old man who had reached level 75 Second Transcendence advancement was also slightly surprised. He raised his hand and pointed to the seventh position on the light screen.

"Pull up the live feed for seventh place."

The light screen switched accordingly, and the image of the seventh-place player was magnified.

In the scene, a young man wearing a green jacket stands in a gray, gloomy dungeon world, facing two monsters engaged in battle.

But the young man's face was not that of Su Mu, the one the old man remembered from participating in the provincial dungeon design competition.

"It's not him." The old man frowned slightly. "It's someone else."

"I knew it." A teacher nearby breathed a sigh of relief, "How could an F-rank core card possibly reach the seventh wave? It must be a case of duplicate names."

Before the words were even finished, everyone noticed the rankings on the screen were fluctuating wildly.

First place: Su Mu. Current wave: Wave 8. Total kills in this wave: 148.